CNN rides cruise coverage to high ratings

2/15/13 4:59 PM EST

CNN has been roundly mocked for its hyper-intense, unending coverage of the Carnival Triumph cruise ship story -- or, what BuzzFeed charmingly refers to as CNN's 24 Hours Of Poop Ship -- but last night's ratings show that the move paid off.

Per TVNewser, CNN topped the coveted 25-54 demo between 10 p.m. and midnight with 400,000 viewers. More importantly, they trumped MSNBC and came in just behind Fox News for overall viewers, with 1.20 million (Fox News had 1.33 million; MSNBC 529,000.)

That's a huge triumph for CNN, which usually averages half of MSNBC's ratings and a quarter of the Fox News viewership in primetime.

CNN certainly went all out for the event, covering the cruise's docking by boat and helicopter, in addition to its resources on land and in the studio. TVNewser's Alex Weprin estimates the cost in the mid-six figure range. But CNN has resources, and what it needs are ratings.